


There's No Air

by Icarus (Slickarus)



Category: Spring Awakening - Sheik/Sater
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/M, and i'm obsessed with angels soo, i don't know what this is, something kind of beautiful
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-07
Updated: 2017-08-07
Packaged: 2018-12-12 16:44:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 780
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11741085
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Slickarus/pseuds/Icarus
Summary: It was a story as old as campfires and telling tales - the boy loves another, the boy loves adventure, the boy loves the moon, the boy doesn’t love at all.





	There's No Air

Ilse wore dresses with the seams falling out. Ilse had charcoal dust permanently fixed to her fingers. Ilse still listened to music on cassette tapes.

And Ilse was in love with a boy who didn’t love her back.

It was a story as old as campfires and telling tales - the boy loves another, the boy loves adventure, the boy loves the moon, the boy doesn’t love at all. Ilse didn’t know which one Moritz was, but she knew he didn’t have eyes for her. She knew that, having left town for years and then having come back, something between them would change, but she didn’t know that this was what would happen.

The first time she saw him, all grown up, he didn’t even recognize her. He smiled politely as he walked past her on his way to class, but he didn’t greet her. His glance didn’t linger. She knew he didn’t see the little girl that he used to run into the forest with or catch fireflies together in a jar, he only saw a stranger.

She recognized him. How could she not? Everything, from his rumpled shirt collar to his scuffed shoes to his dark, wide eyes was exactly the same as it had been ten years ago. The only thing that had changed was that Moritz was taller, and had grown into his too-big hands and feet. Ilse knew him when she saw him and knew that she still loved him because it hit her heart like an arrow.

But he hadn’t recognized her. She wondered for a second whether she should run up to him, remind him of the fun they’d had together, but he disappeared behind double doors and Ilse was still standing alone. A stranger.

When she finally introduced herself again, his eyes were still confused. It was as if the years they’d known each other had been wiped from his memory. He knew the places she mentioned, and the things they did together, but whenever he looked at her, it was as if he was still trying to place her in his mind. Was she so forgettable?

And he was shy. She knew he was shy, had always known, but he couldn’t speak to her. Couldn’t look her in the eye for long. But all she wanted to do was stare into those deep eyes that reflected back the world so well. 

She was in love with a boy who couldn’t see her, not in the past, and not in the present. So why could she only see him?

It was late one evening when she was walking home from the studio where she’d been pouring herself into her work. Her long coat brushed against her calves as a thick wind tried to push her off the path. She froze in place when she saw his figure in a dark coat seated on the bench. Moritz was staring down at his boots with his hands folded in front of him like two birds huddling for warmth. Ilse felt her throat begin to choke up with tears at the boy who didn’t know her, and without thinking, she walked forward until he was right in front of her. He looked up.

“Ilse?”

“Why don’t you remember me?” She blurted, miraculously staying dry-eyed for what she feared would be a very short time. He furrowed his brows.

“Aren’t you Ils-”

“I’ve known you since we were children. We used to play together, Moritz, every day, but you treat me like a stranger.”

She hoped the darkness would hide some of the tears that she knew were creeping down her cheeks. Moritz looked up at her and really stared before answering, somewhat sheepishly, “I thought you were an angel.”

“What does that mean?”

“When we were younger,” he said. “Nobody else knew about you except for me, and I only ever saw you in the woods. I thought you were an angel that was there to protect me, so I was surprised to see that you’re real.” His cheeks blushed even more than they already were, thanks to the cold. “I didn’t want to tell you because I was afraid you’d laugh. But every time I look at you, I can’t believe you exist.” Ilse found herself smiling against the tears.

“I thought you didn’t like me,” she said quietly.

“Didn’t like you? Ilse, I’m in love with you.” He covered his mouth quickly, but Ilse reached for his hands.

“Even if I’m not an angel?”

“Especially if you’re not an angel. And I want to be able to know you as a human, not just as a memory.” She squeezed his hands.

“I’d like that.”

**Author's Note:**

> As always, I appreciate all comments/kudos/feedback.
> 
> Title from She's an Angel by They Might Be Giants
> 
> This was a fic that was requested via tumblr, and if you've got a pairing/situation that you'd like to request, you can reach me on the following platforms:  
> [Tumblr](http://thereinkiss.tumblr.com/) and [Twitter](https://twitter.com/slickarus)  
> peace and love


End file.
